Mumbai: Traffic movement was briefly disrupted on Mumbai’s Aarey Colony Road in the early hours of Thursday after a BEST bus collided with a truck near Aarey Unit No. 16 (Dindoshi), on the first day of 2026. The incident occurred during the morning hours, leading to slow-moving traffic in the area for nearly an hour. No casualties or injuries were reported.

Videos of the accident surfaced on social media by local news portal, showing the bus and truck blocking a portion of the road as commuters navigated through the congestion. Traffic personnel were deployed to regulate movement and ensure normal flow was restored at the earliest.

The Mumbai Traffic Police confirmed the incident through a public update. “Traffic to Aarey Unit No. 16 (Dindoshi) is moving slowly due to a truck and bus accident,” the police said in a message posted around 9 am. An hour later, authorities announced that the situation had been brought under control, stating, “Now traffic is clear.”

The incident has drawn attention as it comes just days after a fatal BEST bus accident near Bhandup railway station on the night of December 29, 2025. In that incident, a BEST bus rammed into a group of passengers standing in a queue on Bhandup Station Road, killing four people and injuring nine others. CCTV footage of the crash had captured the moments when the bus ploughed into the unsuspecting commuters around 10 pm, a peak hour for office-goers returning home.

The bus involved in the Bhandup tragedy was a 9-metre air-conditioned Olectra electric bus operating on a wet lease for BEST and was plying on Route 606, which connects Nagardas Nagar and Bhandup station. Following the crash, Bhandup police and senior officials rushed to the spot, shifted the injured to nearby hospitals and cordoned off the road to prevent further mishaps.

Confirming the casualties in the earlier incident, Deputy Police Commissioner Hemra Singh Rajput had said, “Four people have died and nine others have been injured in the incident. The bus driver has been taken into custody.”

Mumbai: ushered in the New Year 2026 with an unexpected spell of rain, as heavy showers lashed several parts of South Mumbai early on Thursday morning. Many areas in SoBo witnessed intense rainfall at dawn, while the suburbs experienced light to moderate showers. As the morning progressed, the rain gave way to clearer skies, gentle winds and reduced humidity, creating a pleasant, almost winter-like atmosphere that offered residents a welcome respite from the usual heat and pollution.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast a partly cloudy sky with haze for the day, predicting temperatures to range between 16°C and 29°C. The sudden rainfall played a crucial role in improving Mumbai’s air quality, which had deteriorated sharply in the preceding days.

According to air quality monitoring platform AQI.in, Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 115 during the early hours of Thursday, placing it in the ‘poor’ category. However, this marked a noticeable improvement compared to the previous day, when air quality levels across several parts of the city had plunged into the ‘severe’ to ‘hazardous’ range. Such high pollution levels are known to pose serious health risks, particularly for children, senior citizens and individuals with respiratory or heart-related conditions.

The spike in pollution is largely due to construction dust and fine particulate matter. Mumbai is currently witnessing extensive government-led infrastructure development, including metro rail corridors, flyovers, coastal road extensions and large-scale road widening projects. Alongside these, aggressive private real estate construction has significantly increased dust emissions. Vehicular exhaust, especially during peak traffic hours at major junctions, has further worsened air quality.

Several localities emerged as pollution hotspots despite the improvement. Chembur recorded an alarming AQI of 293, categorised as ‘unhealthy’, indicating conditions that could adversely affect even healthy individuals. Deonar and Worli followed with AQI levels of 157 and 153, respectively, both falling in the ‘poor’ category. Colaba registered an AQI of 143, while Malad, a key residential and commercial area, recorded 140.

In contrast, many suburban areas saw substantial improvement, with air quality moving into the ‘moderate’ range. Borivali West recorded an AQI of 65 and Charkop stood at 72. Kandivali East (75), Santacruz (77) and Govandi (78) also reported moderate air quality, offering some relief to residents.

As per standard classifications, AQI levels between 0–50 are considered ‘good’, 51–100 ‘moderate’, 101–200 ‘poor’, 201–300 ‘unhealthy’, and above 300 ‘severe’ or ‘hazardous’.

Navi Mumbai, Dec 31: The Navi Mumbai Police Crime Branch has busted an overseas job fraud racket by raiding three bogus HR and manpower supply companies in CBD Belapur that were allegedly cheating unemployed youth by luring them with foreign job offers without possessing the mandatory licence from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). During the coordinated operation, police seized 154 passports and arrested eight persons.

The action followed a tip-off received by MEA official Rajeshkumar, who alerted the Navi Mumbai Police after learning that several offices in CBD Belapur were illegally collecting money from job aspirants and falsely promising employment abroad despite lacking the required MEA authorisation.

Acting on the information, Crime Branch Unit-2, under the leadership of Senior Police Inspector Anil Patil, formed three teams and conducted simultaneous raids on December 26.

Police raided HR Global at Vishnu Complex in Sector 15, Vision Arabia HR Solution at Hilton Centre in Sector 11, and Bright Tech Marine Services at Sai Chambers.

During the searches, officers recovered 136 passports from HR Global, 18 passports from Bright Tech Marine Services, and several important documents from Vision Arabia HR Solution.

Investigations revealed that the owners and staff of all three firms were operating without the mandatory MEA licence and were illegally charging candidates while making false promises of overseas employment.

Accordingly, the Crime Branch registered a case at CBD Police Station under Sections 318(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 10 and 24 of the Emigration Act, 1983.

The arrested accused include Rochak Joshi (30), Sachin Sathale (45), Amit Kadam (41), Devidas Dhangar (38), Sagar Chorat (33) and three others.

“The accused were running fake recruitment operations and collecting passports and money from candidates without any legal authority to send Indian citizens abroad for employment. We have seized a large number of passports and documents, and further investigation is underway to identify more victims,” said Senior Police Inspector Anil Patil.

Police said the exact number of people cheated by the racket is yet to be ascertained, and efforts are underway to trace victims of the fraud.

Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai Police have urged citizens to remain cautious and verify the MEA licence of any overseas recruitment agency before making payments, warning that strict action will be taken against those involved in such fraudulent activities.